Category: Life After Death

Jesus: God in the Flesh

Without an amazing act of love that we celebrate at Christmas there would be no point in writing or thinking about eternal life, because all that would be waiting for us would be judgement. The miracle of Christmas is all about God becoming human. But what does that mean? The discussion below is largely theoretical based on the little information that we have.

Jesus is a unique being in several ways. First, He is a being that pre-existed His conception as a human. The rest of us started our existence at conception. We were not a soul waiting to jump into a body. Jesus is the Son of God — a being united with the Father in a way that none of us can understand. Still, the Son of God is known to have acted as a distinct person in the creation of the world, in interacting with Israel during Old Testament times, and probably in many other ways. This being was a spirit. What’s a “spirit”? It is an intelligent, powerful being that has no set physical or observable form. A spirit can take on a form and “manifest” itself, but it is not bound to that form. When Jesus “manifested” in the Old Testament, as when three visitors came to Abraham, we refer to Him as the “pre-incarnate” Christ. Incarnating is not the same as manifesting.

There is no biblical glossary that sets down the defining parameters of what it means to be a spirit or spiritual. Similarly, theological terms like incarnate, pre-incarnate, triune or manifest are subject to the understanding of the user. The definition of “spirit” above is my own as I struggle to understand God, Angels, Seraphim, and ultimately humans and myself. For now, I will stand with my definition of what God and the Son of God is.

I believe Angels and Seraphim are slightly different, even though the Bible speaks of angels as “ministering spirits”. In their formal space, that of Heaven, I expect that individual Angels and Seraphim have a set form. They also seem to have the ability to access our space, this Universe, and here they can “manifest” taking any form that they wish. This would be true of Satan (a Seraphim) and demons (Angels), only now they are excluded from Heaven.

For the time being, living human beings are stuck here with a set form. We have a body, and that body’s form cannot be shifted (not including surgery). When we die, we temporarily leave our “Earthly” body behind. If we are connected to Christ, we go to Heaven and assume a Heavenly body, which again has a set form (superior to what we left behind). We cannot return to this time-space, until we return with Jesus at Judgement Day.

Christmas is the story of the Son of God volunteering to doing something that is very restricting to Him yet is a marvelous act of sacrificial love. He takes on a set human form. By incarnating rather than manifesting the Son of God is stuck with this union. He becomes Jesus.

The Angels are said to have marveled at this. They likely marveled not so much at the fact that God could do this, but rather that He would. It is akin to our choosing to be a rat. The reasoning for it is clear and beautiful. God became human so that humans could have a chance at eternal life with Him.

God is a being of laws. He had the sovereign power to ignore His laws and save sinful humans simply because He wanted to. That is not God’s idea of justice. The Law had to be fulfilled and a sinless human being would do it. Because of the process of how our sinful human nature is spread (by heredity), there was no and would be no sinless human being; so the Son of God became one. A virgin birth avoided the inheritance of a sinful nature. The incarnation put the Son of God under the Law.

The fact that Jesus is the incarnate Son of God also made possible that human beings like us could be united with Jesus in a way similar to how the Son of God is united to the Father and the Holy Spirit. This allows us to have the righteousness of Jesus and for Jesus’ forsakeness on the cross to apply to us.

20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

John 17:20-21 (ESV)

Many people think this prayer of Jesus is unfulfilled, because the Christian church is divided structurally and doctrinally. That is incorrect. We are all united in some supernatural way to Jesus and therefore to each other. This saves us.

At Judgement Day we will take the final step of our salvation. We will acquire a resurrected, spiritual body. (1 Corinthians 15:44f) What does that mean? I don’t think it means that we will be like God without form, but rather a form for this Universe and a form for Heaven with the ability to move between both. Could that be a misread? Absolutely. Whatever having a spiritual body means, it will be great; and it will be because the Son of God chose transformation of Himself.

Does Jesus remain human? I think so. What will that look like? We will find out.

Life That Is Truly Life

People do crazy stuff sometimes. They jump out of airplanes, ski off the tops of mountains, kayak off of waterfalls. Often this is done for the adrenaline rush that comes with flirting with death. People also do dangerous “recreational” drugs to experience something beyond the boredom or the pain of their daily lives. These risky or reckless behaviors are often described as wanting to feel alive. What is being “alive” supposed to feel like? Let’s ask a crazier question, “Are you alive?”

Feelings are very much subject to the chemistry of our bodies. Depression is chemically mediated in our brains. It can have a cause in negative experiences, but it is then enshrined in brain chemistry. That is why medicines can help. Fixing relationships, changing how you think about your life, feeling hope can all help. These things also modify brain chemistry. So what is real? Is what you think real or what is happening to what you think with? Both. You are not a soul riding along in a body. You are a body and soul, even if those things are not what they should be at this time.

One of the unfortunate aspects of how our bodies have been modified by sin and the curse, is the strong tendency for our brains to seek pleasure and to become addicted to it. Life becomes a balancing act where we want to have pleasure but remain in control of ourselves. Some people have this tendency worse than others; they have an addictive personality. This is often seen as being “weak willed”. It is more being poorly constructed. “Friends” actor Matthew Perry, who drown at his home this week, freely shared how he became addicted early and could not shake it even with the best of care. This did not make him a weak or bad person. He was a person who could not handle any drugs of alcohol because of how sin and the curse had modified him.

We all need to have realistic expectations of how this life will feel and a clear understanding of why we are alive. Living under sin (we all have a sinful nature, for a better explanation of this go here: https://givingchrist.com/2023/10/10/what-is-sinful-nature/ This reality does create a far from ideal existence. Add to it what the Bible calls “the curse”, which is basically God not tightly controlling how the universe works, and you have the ingredients of a life than is disappointing at best. (Go to givingchrist.com and search “the curse” in the search box at the bottom of the page)

This explains an intriguing little phrase in the Bible:

17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 (ESV)

I am especially interested in the last two words here: “truly life”. Does “truly life mean our experience here not real or is it not worthy of the title “life”?

Recently scientists and noted personalities like Elon Musk have played with the idea that the whole universe is actually a simulation. It is like the movie, “The Matrix”. The reasons for this are because our planet seems too good to be true within the laws of physics. Because the odds are against it, we must be in a simulation. Others note that physical limits like the speed of light suggest a limiting processor speed.

This seems like a desperate attempt to get around that the world is a creation. The complexity of the universe that seems extraneous to the world’s existence is either God being creative for His own pleasure or some type of consequence of the curse. Living in a creation does not make it a simulation. However, living in a fallen creation does make it unpleasant and incomplete. That is why people who have Near Death Experiences (NDE) say that they feel more alive when they were clinically dead.

There will be heightened senses, greater joy, deeper love, engrossing amazement when we get out from under sin and the curse. It will be life that truly deserves the title life. In fact, this won’t be completed at your physical death, unless Jesus is coming again at that time. The fullness of your life will be accomplished at your resurrection from the dead (Search “resurrection of the dead” in the search box above). It is also a gift for those who are connected by faith and baptism to Jesus. It is not the general fate of mankind.

In the meantime, the muted nature of our experience now doesn’t make it worthless. This is God’s creation and it still has a purpose and so do you. You are not created for thrills and highs. You are created to know God, to know His love for you, to reflect his love for you to others. This is true in even the most miserable of situations (especially then). You want to be here to accomplish God’s plans for you.

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)

Having God work through you is a high that doesn’t do harm. It is a foretaste of life that is truly life.

Judgment Day for the Redeemed

There is a passage of Scripture that has captured my imagination. It is 1 Corinthians 3:10-15. I call it the “Three Little Pigs” passage, because verse 12 is reminiscent of that nursery rhyme. The passage gives a unique insight into what Judgment Day is like for somebody who has been saved by Jesus. I have written snippets about this topic in the past. In this blog I would like to give a more complete treatment. Here is the passage:

 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

1 Corinthians 3:10-15 (ESV)

It surprises people when they here that Judgment Day is a judgment of our deeds. This is said in several places in Revelation and is correctly stated in the Athanasian Creed, if you are familiar with that. What throws people off is the assumption that Judgment Day is about whether we are saved or not. For people who don’t have the forgiveness of their sins through Jesus, it is about that. But for those who have forgiveness, their salvation has been known for a long time. In fact, people could have been in the Heaven for millennia by the time Judgment Day rolls around. They are not going to be kicked out of God’s presence at that time.

So why should redeemed people go through the Judgment Day process at all? And what is “the process”? 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 tells us quite a bit. Let me set the stage.

Jesus returns from Heaven with all those who had previously died that were connected to Him (“in Christ” is a phrase frequently used in the Bible to describe that relationship). Everybody (living and the dead, saved and the unsaved) is resurrected or transformed into a new body as described in 1 Corinthians 15. The Redeemed are collected to be near Christ (this is the real Rapture) and are then seated on Christ’s right as described in Matthew 25:31f. Throughout this process the universe has been unraveling as God is changing everything. The Earth is eventually consumed by fire. It is not clear of where we are relative to this. The judgment of Judgment Day then proceeds.

Matthew 25:31-46 gives a general overview of the judgment. I’ll write about this next time. While is seems like a group judgement in that passage. Paul shows that it is very individualistic in the passage above. What happens?

It seems that we all will experience this “fire” that essentially reveals and evaluates everything that has happened in our lives here on Earth. I say “everything”, but it is actually everything minus what has been forgiven through our connection to Christ. The process shows whether we have “built” on the foundation of Christ with a life that is “gold, silver and costly stones” or “wood, hay and straw.” What constitutes “gold, silver and costly stones”?

These precious things are obviously metaphors. Paul urges us to live lives “worthy” of Christ. People who still have sinful natures will never truly be worthy of Christ’s sacrifice or of His presence and glory. But what we are asked to do is to be active being good stewards of everything God gives us in life (time, talents, money, body, the planet, our knowledge of God, etc.), to carry our the “good deeds prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10), to grow in the characteristics of God’s nature (2 Peter 1:4, et al)and to do all of this by the power of the Holy Spirit and with a humble and loving nature (Luke 17:10, 1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

Wood, hay and straw would constitute living as Christian and treating grace as cheap, straying into an attitude of self-righteousness and entitlement, ignoring the work of God’s kingdom, being a selfish steward and the like. The Day will reveal God’s evaluation of all of this. The fire referenced here, as well as by John the Baptist (Matthew 3:11) and Jesus (Mark 9:49), destroys the remembrance of such things and leaves only what God considers to be rewardable, if anything.

We are saved by grace. Without Jesus nothing we do can eclipse our sin. For some, even with Jesus, they have no reward; but they still have eternal life. They enter the New Heaven and Earth, but “only as through fire”. For the wiser disciple their life was not meaningless. They too are saved by grace, but they will also have a reward. What is the reward? Not much is said, but you can put a general idea together. I’ll save that for another blog.

Clearly, it is desirable to have a reward. So we want to keep this balance in our minds. We serve God because we love God and, as God’s nature seeps into our souls, we love people. We consider God worthy of our all and we do our best to give Him our all. None of this is done to save ourselves or to merit anything. We serve because we believe in the cause we are serving. We know that we are blessed to be saved by grace. We understand that if salvation rested on us somehow our sinful nature would mess it up. We leave this life expecting eternal life and no more. We receive more because God is good.

Can You Imagine a New Earth?

Today is a gorgeous fall day. There is bright sun and a warm breeze. It is wonderful. It is also just the remnant of the good things that God placed in the original creation. Sit outside long enough and you will notice the results of the “curse”.

Probably some insects will find you eventually and they will harass if not bite you. The sun might get too warm. Stay long enough and you will get sunburn. Discomfort, temperature change, hunger, thirst will all show up eventually. But what if the curse no longer existed? What if sin and Satan’s kingdom were no longer a part of your environment? Can you imagine it?

The Biblical description of the New Earth is pretty scant. All of the detail is left for us to discover in the future. Even a Near Death Experience is not a field trip to the New Earth. If it is not an illusion, it is an experience of Heaven during the “Intermediate Period”, the time between now and Judgment Day.

What can we say about the New Earth? First, it is not just for redeemed people, but it includes a redeemed version of the rest of creation. There will be animals, but a “no death” system of existence. Nothing will prey on you or anything else. A petting zoo of the grandest form.

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
    and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
    and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
    their young shall lie down together;
    and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
    and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.
9 They shall not hurt or destroy
    in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

Isaiah 11:6-9 (ESV)

Can you imagine such a gentle and complementary relationship with nature? Never mind the food chain and the cycles that move energy or carbon. God can create sustainable worlds that work in many ways.

How about people? We are the most dangerous predator on this planet. What about on the New Earth?

But be glad and rejoice forever
    in that which I create;
for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,
    and her people to be a gladness.

Isaiah 65:18 (ESV)

People will be one of the most enjoyable parts of the New Earth. No conflict, no unfriendly competition, just joyful relationships. We will not retain the relationships (like spouse) that we had here. That is not to say that we won’t know people from here. Our investment in helping others to know Jesus and be disciples is so that they will be a part of our “reward” in the New Earth.

Will we be bound to the New Earth? We are currently on the cusp of space tourism. Is our place restricted to the New Earth? One confusing aspect of God’s post-Judgment Day plans is that it appears to some that we either never go to Heaven or leave Heaven as Judgment Day commences. While I agree that we return with Jesus. I don’t think the Bible says we have to stay. Paul talks about “an eternal house in Heaven.”(2 Corinthians 5:1). What if an aspect of our resurrected bodies is that we can move between Heaven and this universe freely? What if we can move all over this universe and Heaven freely? Endless adventure, travel, investigating all that God will create.

Speaking of our resurrected bodies, what will we be like?

 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

1 Corinthians 15:42-44 (ESV)

A body that is no longer able to die, no longer sick or weak. Who knows what are its limits? I would understand “spiritual” in this context as that ability to move between and exist in parallel universes like Heaven and here. Will we be beautiful? I expect beauty will still be thing, but no one left out. Each person will have their unique and beautiful look.

One more thing to ponder. What about our relationship with God. We think of God being visible in Heaven, but He is able to be everywhere. I expect we will encounter Jesus in a face-to-face way every day in many settings. We will experience the Spirit and the Father in a multitude of ways, from seeing them take form, to being in God’s throne room, to experiencing their presence and power within us.

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Revelation 21:3b-4 (ESV)

Are you ready for this? This is the inheritance of those who are in Christ. God gets through to us so that we believe the promises connected to the death and resurrection of Jesus. We have eternal life from the time we are baptized in the name of Jesus, but it is ultimately and fully revealed when the New Earth begins.

Is Heaven a Destination for Humans?

Depending on your background the question in the title may seem strange to you. For many their understanding of eternal life is simply Heaven or Hell. There are others who come from the other side of this question. They would correctly note that Heaven was not promised as a human destination in the Old Testament. They would also note that we are promised a resurrection of the body and a place in a “new heaven and new earth.” If they wished, they could also note that “heaven” is oddly not capitalized in Greek like a proper noun, place name is in the rest of the New Testament.

Let’s start with the last point. Heaven is definitely a place and not a state of mind or physical condition. The problem is that for some reason Greek couldn’t come up with different words for atmosphere, universe and the place where God properly dwells. Sometimes the distinction is made 1st heaven, 2nd heaven and 3rd heaven, which corresponds with how they visualized these things spatially–like concentric circles. The fact that they have this wrong, doesn’t make God’s throne a non-place. Perhaps Heaven isn’t it’s proper name, just like “angel” might be more of a job description (messenger) than a name for a species (We could say the same for the title”God”) We use Heaven as a proper name, so I would argue that it should be capitalized regardless of what Greek did with it. Hebrew doesn’t capitalize, context is the key. The main point is that Heaven is a place and a future place for us.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in (H)heaven for you,

1 Peter 1:3-4 (ESV)

Our inheritance is in Heaven. You can have treasure in Heaven (Mt.9:21). Your citizenship is in Heaven (Phil. 3:20) Your hope is laid up in Heaven (Col. 1:5). And there are proofs that don’t use the word “Heaven.” The martyrs are under the altar (in Heaven) and before Judgement Day. Paul talks about us having a building from God…eternal in the heavens. Why the plural? I think it is because there is Heaven, the dwelling place of God and the redeemed now, and post-Judgment Day a new Heaven. My way of reconciling Heaven and eternity is to understand that we don’t abandon Heaven for the New Earth, but rather we add the New Earth.

The fact that Heaven is mentioned, but not as a destination for humans, in the Old Testament; certainly seems like a theological development. I suspect that it a change in conditions rather than human thought. Satan is expelled from Heaven (Rev. 12), and sin is atoned for by the victory of Jesus on the cross. The result is our ability to “reign” with Christ in Heaven right now.

There is a hymn that goes, “I’m but a stranger here, Heaven is my home.” The thought is a little sloppy but not wrong. I am of the Earth–not a stranger. But because of Christ, the Earth, Heaven, the new Heaven and Earth, are all home for me.

And This Is Eternal Life

When you think about eternal life, what do you imagine it is like? Many of us think of loved ones that went before us. We might think of having new abilities or being in beautiful surroundings. I don’t think that is wrong. But Jesus gives us something to ponder about eternal life.

In Jesus’ “high priestly prayer” He says:

3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

John 17:3 (ESV)

What does this mean? Let’s start with something simple. Eternal life is not the same as eternal existence. We have been created to be eternal creatures. There is nothing that can stop that. Having our bodies fail does not mean we cease to exist. Part of us is temporarily gone, but we continue on. It is more of a move.

The Bible reserves the word “life” for something worth having. Existence in Sheol or the final lake of fire (Hell) is not worth having. Paul even casts a little dispersion on this “life”.

17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 (ESV)

Apparently, this life isn’t “truly” life. Paul not only was a conduit of revelation from God, he had an out-of-body experience that he refers to in 2 Corinthians. He speaks from experience. So the best this life has to offer doesn’t quite deserve the title “life”. It is damaged by sin, sinful nature, the curse, and the presence of Satan.

In Revelation 7, the inhabitants of Heaven have a term for this life. Referring to the people now in Heaven, an elder says:

“These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Revelation 7:14 (ESV)

“Great tribulation” may refer to a specific period of world history or it may refer to it all. At very least, any other time is the usual “tribulation” and not life.

What does it mean to “know God” in this context. God is the source of every good thing. It is not that being with God is doing churchly stuff and being with Satan is having a raucous party with your friends. The ability to enjoy a party comes from God. Friends comes from God. Even alcohol comes from God. This doesn’t provide a reason to abuse it. Being known and not forsaken by God means that God will continue to fill your existence with good things. Many of which you have never conceived.

The second part about knowing “Jesus Christ whom You have sent” has a combination of meanings. Jesus will be a daily part of our existence. We will enjoy a wonderful, face-to-face relationship. But Jesus also is the only way to know the Father. Our connection with Jesus fulfills God’s Law for us and pays for our sinfulness. Without Jesus there will be no “life”.

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 14:6 (ESV)

There are many smaller ways to make a person’s life better and we should pursue doing them if we can. Things like providing the basic necessities of living. But the deepest, most important way to give life is to give Jesus. My other blog http://givingchrist.com talks about various aspects of sharing the story and promise of Jesus, and what can stand in the way of real life. May nothing stand in your way, because truly having life is the most important asset we can have.

The Glory I Had with You

In Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer in John 17, Jesus speaks of returning to a “glory I had with you before the world existed”. What would Jesus consider to be glorious? Is it a glory that we will be able to see? Is it something that will be experienced in other ways?

The first thing to note is that “glory” is probably not the same in God’s eyes as in ours. We think in terms of power, praise, pleasure, and authority. I expect that such categories would also be a part of God’s definition. But God would add love to that list.

In His prayer, Jesus asks the Father to glorify Him. This request is focused on what would happen before Jesus ascended back to Heaven. Crucifixion is not glorious. Being forsaken by God is even more inglorious. Being crucified with the purpose of fulfilling God’s Law for others because you love them and honor the Father, that is very glorious. Paying the ultimate price when you didn’t owe it out of love, that is the pinnacle of glorious.

Prior to the crucifixion James and John and their mom went on a glory-seeking mission. Having been enculturated to see glory in terms of praise and power they approached Jesus about sitting on His right and left when He entered into His glory.

20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

Matthew 20:20-23 (ESV)

James, John and mom definitely were thinking in terms of some sort of throne arrangement. Jesus indicates that this isn’t what you are thinking. His ultimate glory would be on the cross. The thieves to the right and to the left are the ones “chosen” for roles. These are not necessarily coveted positions. None-the-less, James and John would be chosen for the glory of suffering for the Gospel and, in James’s case, martyrdom.

This brings me back to the idea of heavenly glory. Is it all just bright lights, beautiful music and praise? I expect the glory of love will remain a big part of it. Will there be a necessity for sacrificial love in Heaven or the New Earth? Maybe. It will be nothing like the cross and nothing near forsakeness. The need to care for each other, to give to each other is not just limited to a world with sin and the curse in it. We will experience God’s love for us and a love for each other in many ways.

For me, this emphasizes the importance of our current life. Because sin, the curse, and the work of Satan are such influential forces, the need for genuine, sacrificial love is so important. The need and the opportunities abound. This won’t be so in Heaven or the New Earth. Living in a world that incorporates evil is terrible and I want no more of it than I have to take; but I am willing to stay as long as I can be useful and exercise my “glory” which is the love of God working in me.

This point-of-view can also illustrate why Sheol and Gehenna are so bad. Yes, the description of fire and maggots is mortifying. But the absence of the glory of God is worse. There is a growing absence of love.

In the one story about Sheol that we have, that of the beggar Lazarus, at least the rich man has compassion on his living siblings. He cares whether they arrive in Sheol. This indicates to me that being forsaken by God has not yet set in. In Gehenna, post-Judgment Day, I don’t expect any hope or unselfishness to be found. It is completely inglorious.

The glory of God, in Jesus’ crucifixion, enables the experience of the broader glory of God in eternal life. We will observe His glory in astounding beauty and power. We will live in the midst of the light of His glory in the New Jerusalem. We will experience and express His glory in a great love for each other. We can get a head start on it now.

That Can Never Perish, Spoil or Fade

When we do funerals at our church, we often start the service with a verse from 1 Peter 1. It reads, in part:

In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

1 Peter 1:3b-5 (NIV)

Keep in mind, that our existence past the grave is not just a simple Heaven or Hell https://wordpress.com/post/afterdeathsite.com/131. The wording of this passage does raise some questions. First, and this may surprise you, this is one of the few passages that suggests that Heaven is a destination for human beings. There is no promise of Heaven in the Old Testament. There is more mention of the resurrection and the New Earth even in the New Testament. This passage suggests that our inheritance is in Heaven. Does it mean that we go there to get it? Does it say that we must wait until Judgment Day to have it?

I conclude that we do go to Heaven upon our death and receive at least part of our “inheritance”. I back that up with a passage in Revelation 7:9 that speaks about the location of the victorious dead:

9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,

Revelation 7:9 (ESV)

They are standing before God’s throne which was shown to be in Heaven to this point in Revelation.

What is the “salvation that is ready to revealed in the last time”? Isn’t this something that happens on the last Day–Judgment Day? I always read it that way. I see it differently now. God’s plan of salvation for human beings was only partially revealed prior to Jesus. They knew about the resurrection of the dead. They might have had an inkling that God would provide a way of forgiveness of sins that was permanent. They didn’t expect to go to God’s throne room. It wasn’t promised.

That didn’t mean that Heaven wasn’t in the plan. Heaven wasn’t officially on the table until Jesus had atoned for sin with His completion of God’s Law, paying the penalty of forsakeness https://wordpress.com/post/afterdeathsite.com/2234, and the casting of Satan out of Heaven (Rev. 12:7f). You could really say that it was contingent on Jesus’ success. But now that Jesus has prevailed, God’s full plan of salvation can be rolled out. It does say “last time”, not last day. Now is the last time, not Judgment Day.

The good news is not only will we have a resurrection of our bodies in perfected form and a New Earth after Judgment Day, but we a have immediate access to Heaven and glorious things within it, because God has “given us new birth”, connecting us to Jesus.

When you think about the best things in life now, they all will perish, spoil or fade. A new car will eventually be a boring old car and then rust. Exciting experiences lose their excitement. Everything declines either physically or in our reaction to it or both. Not the stuff of Heaven.

Relationships remain exciting. Seeing God never gets old. Our adventures remain fresh.

In the mean time, all these will keep. We have a job to do here and a certain amount of time to do it. While here, we remain in a danger zone. In Revelation 7 the inhabitants of Heaven refer to our current world as the Great Tribulation. This is hard to appreciate unless you are in a war zone, are chronically ill, or are trapped in dysfunctional relationships. But even if things are good, they are not Heaven good.

While here we are exposed to sin and the curse. God protects our connection to Christ, but we can still walk away from it.https://wordpress.com/post/givingchrist.com/843 We may suffer quite a bit while here. But God will support us and transform us. God will use us in powerful and unique ways. All of the trouble associated with the Great Tribulation will seem small once we move to our home. The one thing that I expect will fade, will be our memory of our struggle here.

Just One Life

About twenty years ago, I traveled to India. It was both a cultural experience and a place of many surprises. We landed in Hyderbad in the middle of the night. As our bus drove to the hotel, the streets were dark. I could vaguely make out the shadows of something on the sidewalk. I didn’t figure out until the next morning that it was all people who were homeless.

India is a nation that is primarily Hindu. A core belief of Hinduism is that this life’s situation is the just product of a previous life. Consequently, if you are homeless you deserved that fate.

You could even return as another living thing. The consequence was that roads would go around a tree. Still, this isn’t exactly a respect for nature. There was litter everywhere.

Another likely result of believing that you are on a journey through multiple lives was the extremely dangerous traffic situation. Overcrowding and poverty no doubt contributed to the situation, but it is easier to face death if you expect to be born again.

The Bible doesn’t take on the topic of reincarnation directly. It does speak of eternal existence for all, but it denies that this existence will be here–at least not immediately.

27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Hebrews 9:27-28(ESV)

We die once, not over and over. Death is the separation of body and soul. Something that would never happen except for sin. We don’t lapse into non-existence nor even unconscious existence, we consciously continue in either Heaven or Sheol.

In this article, I am interested in the implications of this fact for this brief life. Is this life a throw-away, because something better is beyond it? Is it a time to pursue hedonistic pleasures because something worse is next? Is it as the famous polka says, “In Heaven there is no beer, that’s why we drink it here.”? Certain pleasure are earthly pleasures, so pursue them now. Some embrace this philosophy because they feel that the truth about our fate after death is unknowable. I obviously disagree. To the skeptic, I would point out not only Scripture, but Near-Death Experiences. What happens at our death is only unknowable if you don’t try to know. For something as important as this, denial is a fool’s strategy.

Far from an approach that neglects this life, the set of promises that come with connection to Jesus Christ makes this life brief but valuable and life-after death the true prize. Jesus takes the pressure of saving ourselves off of our shoulders and places it on His. Forgiveness of our sins, our inability of fulfilling God’s Laws are all settled by His life. Heaven and beyond that a New Earth are ours for the taking. They are God’s gift.

This life becomes valuable because of what we can accomplish here with the presence of God within us. We can make an eternal difference in another person’s life. We can be a visible representative of God Himself. These things are worthy enduring the finite amount of grief that this life will throw at you.

So what are some of the consequences of knowing what God has given to us? First, I protect my life and try to be a good steward of my health and time, because I won’t get the same kind of opportunity to serve once I die. It isn’t beer that I have to get here, it is sharing God’s promises and His love in an environment that lacks knowledge of God. Besides that, they probably do have beer in Heaven.

Next, I value other people, even my enemies. They are potentially savable. They would be transformed by a connection to Jesus. They can be a reward to me. Life is cheap in many places, but it is not cheap to me.

The circumstances in which people live can be the product of many things: misfortune, bad parenting, limited natural abilities, poor education, poor government, injustice, bad decisions. The list goes on and on, but I can be a source of positive change. Their circumstances are not set by a previous life.

I will get older and closer to death every day. I am neither concerned about death nor a loss of purpose on the way. I know where I am going next and why. I am going to Heaven because of Jesus. My purpose may change as I lose abilities, but I will have a God-given purpose to the end.

Communicating With the Dead

Jesus was unequivocal, the people who have physically died still exist. They are just not here:

32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.”

Matthew 22:32 (ESV)

When you lose somebody, especially if it was unexpected, there can be a powerful desire to communicate with them again. We can have questions about their wellbeing, how to survive without them, and possibly how and why they died.

There are also less pure motivations for communicating with the dead. People may think the dead have some sort of profitable knowledge or can provide some sort of assistance to the living. For some it is just the attraction of dark arts or having some form of mastery over death.

Of course, communicating with the dead is impossible. Right? I wouldn’t be so sure. The Old Testament has strong statements against such a practice. Communicating with the dead is one of the reasons that the Canaanites were dispossessed from Palestine in favor of the Jews. Deuteronomy lists their sins and warns the Jews not to follow their example.

“When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer 11 or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, 12 for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you. 13 You shall be blameless before the Lord your God,

Deuteronomy 18:9-13 (ESV)

Abomination is a pretty strong word. Why? The first set of motives listed above are not impure. Part of it is no doubt how this is possible in the first place. This is not using the power of God, nor utilizing something inherent in nature; this is using the power of Satan and his kingdom. As such it is dangerous. It can also be the source of twisted truth. It may also leave a person open to other manifestations of evil, like possession. It would seem that such practices were common in the ancient world and possibly the source of some modestly twisted information about life after death.

Keep in mind that at this time, everybody went to Sheol (for more information) https://afterdeathsite.com/2021/05/11/an-expectation-of-sheol/. This may matter. The righteous were segregated from the unrighteous. The one biblical story about communicating with the dead was communication with the righteous as King Saul summoned the prophet Samuel using the “Witch of Endor” in 1 Samuel 28.

13 The king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a god coming up out of the earth.” 14 He said to her, “What is his appearance?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid homage.

15 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul answered, “I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do.” 16 And Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy?

1 Samuel 28:13-16 (ESV)

Samuel was not pleased, and the desperate attempt of Saul did not help him.

Some would dismiss this as simply a mythical story and consulting the dead as a form of fraud. Certainly, charlatans exist in this area who are willing to take advantage of peoples’ grief. Another theory is that demons masquerade as the dead. This is not how it is presented in 1 Samuel however.

What about modern-day mediums? Are they just frauds? I expect that most, if not all, are frauds. It may also be possible that a person can have an equivalent to a “spiritual gift” (1 Corinthians 12), but one that is not from God. Using such a service remains forbidden by God.

How should we handle devastating grief? https://wordpress.com/post/afterdeathsite.com/734

First, we need to trust the promises of God about forgiveness through Jesus and eternal life. https://wordpress.com/post/afterdeathsite.com/884 If we are not confident about our loved one being saved, then it is not forbidden to continue to pray for them. In the case of suicide, we need to understand how God’s grace actually works. We do not need to confess our sins as the last thing we do. https://wordpress.com/post/afterdeathsite.com/778

Trusting the matters of life after death to God is the right thing to do and leads to healing. Losing purpose from the loss of relationship is something we can actively pursue. We fill the void in our lives by helping others.